Specifying Paper
There are three basic decisions necessary for specifying paper. They are grade,
surface, and weight.
Papers are categorized by the AFPA (American Forest and Paper Association) into #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 grades, based on brightness, as the following chart indicates.
AFPA standard grade classifications [all finishes]
Quality Brightness
Number 1 85.0 to 87.9
Number 2 83.0 to 84.9
Number 3 79.0 to 82.9
Number 4 73.0 to 78.9
Number 5 72.9 and below
Brightness is reflected light. With lower brightness, overall contrast is reduced, and highlights are dulled. Brighter papers cost more, in general, since brightness is a result of adding costly additives like titanium dioxide to the stock.
Not all papers within a given grade category are equal, however. Differences in ink holdout, smoothness, opacity, the amount of coating, side to side consistency, and runnability must be taken into account as well.
Papers come in a variety of surface types, and once again, individual stocks vary within a classification. The most common coated surfaces are cast-coated, gloss, dull, matte, and embossed; uncoated grades come in a wide variety of finishes such as smooth, linen, vellum, and felt. Each of these surfaces will provide different print quality and overall appearance. Each has its strengths and appropriateness for a particular job.
Most grades come in a variety of weights for both cover and text. Having a dummy made before you specify weights is invaluable, since it allows you to check for opacity (put a page of type behind one of the unprinted pages) and for the overall "hand" of the piece.
Before you choose a stock, look at printed and unprinted samples, and talk to your printer, paper merchant, and mill representative.
Runnability Each grade of paper behaves differently on press. A paper's ability to absorb ink uniformly (absorbency), printed ink gloss (holdout), dimensional stability, and surface texture are all important factors to consider when preparing your design. For example, a paper with excellent opacity will present crisp, full-color images without "showing through" on the back of the sheet, and can provide more flexibility when designing and laying out the printer's form.
Holdout Holdout refers to a paper's ability to hold ink on the surface consistently, so that it will dry in a sharper, more clearly defined dot and produce higher ink gloss. When ink is absorbed into the sheet, it spreads, creating a phenomenon refered to as "dot gain."
Recycled paper It has become a design statement to use recycled papers with flecks of dark coloring. The irony is that you need not compromise image quality for the sake of recycling correctness. Lustro Dull Recycled is a perfect example of how smooth, clean, and white recycled paper can be - and how indistinguishable from virgin fiber paper.
Fingerprinting Printers "fingerprint" their presses with a variety of different papers. In fact, they often have specific performance data for the combination of paper, press, and pre - press techniques being used. Printers can be invaluable in helping specify a sheet.
Opacity There are two types of opacity: "apparent opacity" refers to the actual opacity of the unprinted paper itself; "printed opacity" is affected by holdout, in that the lessened opacity is actually caused by absorption of ink
